If LSU climbs to 13-0 -- as it's expected to -- and rolls into the BCS national championship game, then second-ranked Oklahoma State is going to have to win its remaining games and remain unbeaten, too, in order for us to avoid the title being decided in a rematch.

Color me selfish, but there's no interest here in seeing LSU again throw haymakers at No. 3 Alabama, which would be playing for the title after not having been good enough even to win its division in its conference.

And it's pretty hard to not stifle a yawn at the prospect of the Tigers taking another look at No. 4 Oregon, which LSU dismantled in the season opener and remains the same small, lightweight team that runs circles around its Pac-12 Conference opposition but has serious problems against SEC teams. Auburn defeated the Ducks in the BCS title game in January, and LSU smacked them around even worse when the Tigers out-muscled Oregon in Dallas in September.

Yes, each will claim to be different and better than when they played LSU the first time. Heck, several Alabama players immediately declared after the LSU loss that Alabama was the superior team, and Coach Nick Saban lamented lost opportunities as much as he credited the Tigers. So we know exactly how the Crimson Tide feels in regard to being better than the nation's No. 1 team.

But if the Cowboys (10-0) stumble, and LSU wins its next three games (at Ole Miss, against Arkansas and likely against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game), and neither the Crimson Tide nor Ducks lose, then one or the other could get another crack at LSU.

And that's an unattractive scenario.

A rematch for the title -- especially against Alabama, which, it must be stressed, will not even have won its division -- is a non-starter.

But after Stanford fell apart against Oregon and Boise State watched its hopes again sail wide courtesy of a missed kick against TCU on Saturday, two huge hurdles were cleared for Alabama and Oregon.

Now, obviously, it's no fault of their own that other Top 10 teams have folded, sputtered, choked. They've handled their business about as well as they could and because of that, the Crimson Tide and Ducks have several things in common: They're once-beaten, highly ranked, highly regarded and worthy of all that.

But the other thing they have in common -- a loss to LSU -- makes for a less-than-ideal title matchup with the Tigers.

Which is where Oklahoma State comes in.

If the Cowboys win Bedlam, it'd go a long way toward avoiding chaos.

That'll be a tall order, by the way, Oklahoma State taking down Oklahoma in Bedlam on Dec. 3, the same day that the SEC title will be decided.

The Sooners were the nation's top-ranked team in the nation earlier this season and since losing to Texas Tech, they've undressed Kansas State and Texas A&M by a combined score of 99-42.

Those who are versed in the ways of the BCS say that if fifth-ranked Oklahoma finishes off the rest of its opponents and wins Bedlam, it'll vault Oregon regardless of what the Ducks do the rest of the way. That'd take care of the Ducks.

But, truthfully, the hope is that it doesn't come down to that. Because that'd leave Alabama in play as the title-game opponent.

Now, the flip side is that all the lobbying from teams who believe they're worthy of playing for the title could accelerate the call for a playoff. That won't happen until enough teams from BCS conferences demand it, and if several feel like they've been jacked this season, great.

A playoff is the only true way to determine a champ. But that's for another season.

For this one, a rematch in the title game is a little too close. The Cowboys can ride in and prevent that possibility.